Birth to the beginning of World War I

Robert Carlisle Giffen was born in West Chester

West Chester, Pennsylvania

The Borough of West Chester is the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,461 at the 2010 census.Valley Forge, the Brandywine Battlefield, Longwood Gardens, Marsh Creek State Park, and other historical attractions are near West Chester...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, on 29 June 1886. He attended the University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

, in South Bend

South Bend, Indiana

The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...

, Indiana, before appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 from the State of Nebraska in 1903. Midshipman Giffen graduated with the Academy's class of 1907 and was assigned to the battleship USS Virginia

USS Virginia (BB-13)

USS Virginia was a United States Navy battleship, the lead ship of her class of five. She was the fifth ship to carry her name.Virginia was laid down on 21 May 1902 Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia; launched on 6 April 1904; sponsored by Miss Gay Montague,...

, in which he voyaged around the world with the "Great White Fleet

Great White Fleet

The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the United States Navy battle fleet that completed a circumnavigation of the globe from 16 December 1907 to 22 February 1909 by order of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. It consisted of 16 battleships divided into two squadrons, along with...

" between late 1907 and early 1909. During the next four years, Giffen served in several ships and also participated regularly in the National Rifle Matches. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Giffen served at the Washington Navy Yard

Washington Navy Yard

The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...

 in 1913-15 and was then assigned to the new destroyer USS Wainwright

USS Wainwright (DD-62)

USS Wainwright was a built for the United States Navy prior to the American entry into World War I. The ship was the first U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of U.S...

.

World War I and inter-war years

During 1917-1918, Lieutenant Commander Giffen commanded the destroyer USS Trippe

USS Trippe (DD-33)

The second USS Trippe was a in the United States Navy during World War I and later in the United States Coast Guard, designated '. She was named for Lieutenant John Trippe....

 in European waters and served with the Sixth Battle Squadron, attached to the British Grand Fleet

British Grand Fleet

The Grand Fleet was the main fleet of the British Royal Navy during the First World War.-History:It was formed in 1914 by the British Atlantic Fleet combined with the Home Fleet and it included 35-40 state-of-the-art capital ships. It was initially commanded by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe...

 in the North Sea. In mid-1918 he took command of the new destroyer USS Schley

USS Schley (DD-103)

USS Schley was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I and later designated, APD-14 in the World War II...

, serving in her at Gibraltar and in the Mediterranean Sea until August 1919. From then until the middle 1930s he had shore duty at San Francisco, California, at the Naval Academy and at Keyport, Washington; served afloat as Executive Officer of USS Huron

USS South Dakota (ACR-9)

The second USS South Dakota , also referred to "Armored Cruiser No. 9", and later renamed Huron , was a United States Navy Pennsylvania-class armored cruiser....

; and was Commanding Officer of the gunboat USS Sacramento

USS Sacramento (PG-19)

The second USS Sacramento was a gunboat in the United States Navy.Sacramento was launched on 21 February 1914 by the William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; sponsored by Miss Phebe Briggs; and commissioned on 26 April 1914 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard under the...

, a destroyer squadron and the oiler USS Neches

USS Neches (AO-5)

USS Neches was laid down on 8 June 1919 by the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts; launched on 2 June 1920, sponsored by Miss Helen Griffin, daughter of Rear Admiral Robert Griffin; and commissioned on 25 October 1920, with Commander H. T. Meriwether, USNRF, in command.Originally classified...

. Between 1934 and 1937, Captain Giffen was again stationed at the Naval Academy, followed by a tour in command of the light cruiser USS Savannah

USS Savannah (CL-42)

USS Savannah was a light cruiser of the Brooklyn-class. She was laid down on 31 May 1934 by the New York Shipbuilding Association in Camden, New Jersey; launched on 8 May 1937; sponsored by Miss Jayne Maye Bowden, the niece of Senator Richard B. Russell, Jr., of Georgia; and commissioned in the...

 in 1938-1940.

Atlantic service

Giffen attended the Naval War College

Naval War College

The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...

 in 1940 and spent several months in Washington, D.C., as Director of the Naval Reserve Policy Division of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

In March 1941, Rear Admiral Giffen became commander of a cruiser division. He led the North Atlantic Neutrality Patrol

Neutrality Patrol

At the beginning of World War II, when Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 started the hostilities in Europe, President Franklin D...

 on increasingly "warlike" operations during the latter part of 1941. Once war formally began for the United States in December, he commanded surface forces that escorted convoys and, at times, operated with the British Home Fleet

British Home Fleet

The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which operated in the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967.-Pre–First World War:...

. In November 1942, he participated in the North Africa invasion

Operation Torch

Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....

, during which his task force actively engaged French warships and aircraft off Casablanca

Casablanca

Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...

, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

.

Pacific and Caribbean service

During 1943 and into 1944, Rear Admiral Giffen commanded battleship and cruiser task forces in the Pacific, participating in the latter stages of the fight for Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal campaign

The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...

 (and was the losing commander in the Battle of Rennell Island

Battle of Rennell Island

The Battle of Rennell Island took place on 29–30 January 1943, and was the last major naval engagement between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Guadalcanal campaign of World War II...

), the Aleutians campaign, the invasions of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands

Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign

In the Pacific Theater of World War II, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, from November 1943 through February 1944, were key strategic operations of the United States Pacific Fleet and Marine Corps in the Central Pacific. The campaign was preceded by a raid on Makin Island by U.S...

, and raids against Japanese bases in the central Pacific. In May 1944, with the rank of vice admiral, he became Commandant of the Tenth Naval District and Commander, Caribbean Sea Frontier, with headquarters at San Juan, Puerto Rico from 14 May 1944 until 20 August 1945.

Final career assignments and retirement

Vice Admiral Giffen was Commander Service Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, from August 1945, and retired from active duty at the beginning of September 1946.

He died at Annapolis, Maryland

Annapolis, Maryland

Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...

on 10 December 1962.